Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

QHow are TV displays measured?

AThe size of a TV is dictated by the diagonal diameter of the screen. This is calculated by measuring from the top left to bottom right of the screen itself - the measurement doesn't include the bezel (the casing around the screen) or any extras - just the screen.

QWhat is the difference between 4k, Full HD and HD Ready?

AThese 3 are a measurement of the "resolution" of a TV - how many pixels the screen can display at once, and therefore how sharp the image is. HD Ready TVs have a resolution of around 1280x720 pixels, whereas Full HD TVs have a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. 4k TVs have a substantially higher density, being somewhere around 3840x2160 pixels.

The higher the resolution, the sharper the image will be on large screens. An 80 inch TV that only supports HD Ready will look muddy and blurry. On the other hand, 4k resolution will be wasted on a small 3 inch TV, since the screen is too small to make effective use of it.

QWhat is a Smart TV?

AA Smart TV has a net connection, and the ability to run apps like a computer. This means that as well as watching TV, you can use the device to access sites such as YouTube or Netflix, display news updates, browse social media and play music using apps such as Spotify.

QWhat is the difference between LCD & LED TVs?

ALiquid Crystal Displays (LCD) TVs work by shining light through a matrix of coloured liquid cells, whereas Light Emitting Diodes (LED) TVs utilise an enormous amount of tiny LED lights to shine light through, rather than a small number of lamps. LCD TVs still make up the largest amount of TVs on the market, but LED TVs tend to be significantly thinner and lighter, and give a better backlight coverage due to the larger number of lamps.

A Quick Introduction to TVs

When picking the optimal television for your house, there are several important things to consider. First and foremost: size. The size of a TV is crucial not just to the immersion, but also to how well it fits into a room. A small room may only need a medium-sized or small TV - a large 60” monster may fill the room too much, and engulf it. Conversely, having too small a TV in a large room will mean the TV gets lost in the room, and it won’t be seen as easily from all corners of the room. Generally speaking:

30-40” is good for small rooms

40-50” is good for medium-sized rooms

55”+ is good for large rooms

Next to size, the other important consideration is picture quality. This is made up of several different factors: resolution, colour depth, contrast and response time. Lets look at each in turn:

Resolution

This is a measurement of how many pixels make up the screen - a higher pixel density means that the image will be sharper and more detailed, and will provide a higher-quality picture on larger screen sizes. 4k is the current best resolution for consumer-available televisions, providing approximately 4 times the image quality than standard HD TVs.

The resolution of a TV is only as good as the media it's displaying - so a 4K TV will work best with movies and TV that support 4K resolution. Sadly it won't magically make your old VHS tapes look any better!

Colour Depth

This denotes the breadth of colour available to display on the screen, from black to red to white to everything in between. The larger the spectrum that can be displayed on the TV, the more subtle the resulting colours will be - i.e: everything won’t be coloured in exactly the same shade of red, but instead a subtle mix, adding greater depth and richness to the image.

Contrast

This denotes the difference between the darkest blacks and the whitest whites on the screen. The higher the contrast, the more vibrant the colours will be. High contrast ratios especially favour deep blacks, making them richer and deeper. Colour depth and contrast are very much interlinked, and having a TV with high of both will lead to the best picture quality for your viewing pleasure.

High contrast vs. low contrast

Response Time

This is the time delay between the signal being received by the TV, and the resulting image being shown on the screen. This is measured in milliseconds, but can cause problems when the picture changes so rapidly that a second signal will come in before the TV can even process the first one. This leads to multiple images being displayed at once, which in turn causes blurry and muddy images while the TV tries to keep up. Therefore for extremely fast-paced action (such as F1 racing or high-velocity action movies) a low response time will keep the picture sharp and the action easily to follow!

Response time is also very important if you plan on connecting a games console to the TV - a low response time means action-heavy games will feel smoother and more responsive.

Finally, Smart TVs (i.e: internet-enabled TVs with various steaming and app functionality) allow you to use your TV as far more than a gateway to the terrestrial channels. Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Video allow for an enormous catalogue of on-demand films and programmes, while apps such as Spotify or Skype enhance the functionality of your TV to make it capable of multiple roles in your day-to-day life.